Police to go wireless

October 27, 2004|By From news services.

The city will use $9 million in Homeland Security funds to install wireless portable data terminals in police cars in an effort to make crime-fighting more efficient and effective, Mayor Daley said Tuesday.

The terminals will link officers on the street with the Police Department's 4-year-old I-CLEAR system, offering them a host of information in a matter of minutes, officials said. Currently, officers must travel to police stations to access I-CLEAR computers.

With the new terminals, "when the police arrest someone, they will immediately be able to check his identity, criminal history and outstanding warrants," Daley said. "They can look for unsolved crimes in the neighborhood that match his method of operation. They can show mug shots to crime victims."

The new terminals are to be installed in 1,200 police cars by December 2005.